US President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro will be at the Summit of the Americas in Panama later this week. The State Department has completed its review of Cuba's inclusion on the US list of terrorism sponsors.

In 2003, the opposition signed a petition to recall Chávez, but many later faced government repercussions. Now, a similar idea has been proposed for Venezuelans who don't sign a petition against US sanctions - and people are falling in line.

Prosecutors accuse President Cristina Fernandez of helping coordinate a major cover-up deal with Iran. The case gained international attention after one was found shot dead four days after he leveled the allegations.

Former President Chávez targeted the country's poor with subsidies and programs funded by oil revenues. But with oil prices plummeting and poverty on the rise, this core base of supporters is being tested.

From abolishing a law that allows suspects to be held for 80 days without formal charges to improving medical exams on suspected victims of torture, the UN urges Mexico to combat 'disturbing' levels of impunity around torture.

In late December, Nicaragua inaugurated work on what it says will be a waterway able to handle the world’s largest ships passing between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The project comes as Panama doubles its own canal's capacity.